"The Baptist Organ Player"
"This is maybe a wake-up call, or if you wish, a kind reminder that we exist. We are here in Gaza Strip, and we need your prayers," says Nashat Filmon of the Palestinian Bible Society.
Elham Farah was an 84-year-old woman living in the Al-Rimal community of the Gaza Strip. She was a popular music teacher whom had retired a few years ago, and the organ player at Gaza Baptist Church. Elham was a devout Christian and her Father, Hanna Farah was a well-known Palestinian poet. Elham, whose name means "happiness" in Arabic, was never really known by the outside world and probably still isn't. I don't think her life or her death made any major news outlets, although if you google her name you might find her story in some of the Christian media.
Elham was sheltering at the Holy Family Church in Gaza last Sunday night, November 12, when she went outside to see if her building was still standing or not. She was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, as Christians were reporting that tanks had surrounded the church. She fell to the ground, and many people came out to try and help her, but they were also shot at. Farah's neice, Carole, made a plea on a social media post asking for help and for someone to assist her. The post said she was close to Al-Shifa Hospital and shared Farah's phone number.
No one was able to come to her aid, and she died sometime in the night on the same road where she was shot. On Monday morning eye-witnesses reported an Israeli tank ran over her body in the road. She was another human, just like you and I, who happened to be born in this are of the world. Elham represented the body of Christ in Gaza which is dwindling, and she is the collateral damage often overlooked by the politics.
"There are those who support this genocide with his fingerprint, so their hypocrisy is exposed. These churches all, added to our pain. The church needs repairing. A church that doesn't care about and defend the oppressed, and sees Christ in every victim loses its message.
Jesus is the one who said "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.... As you did to one of the least of my brothers, you did to me." (Matthew 25)
Today we wonder if the world sees us Palestinians as human beings equal to the rest of humans? If so they suffer for our death and support us in our pains and the reality of death in which we are living. And there are churches that understand what solidarity means...We are not alone. There are churches that understand that peacemaking begins by defying evil and taking bold, bold stands. We thank them. They are our rock.
Someone put human dignity at the center - isn’t this the essence of correction, the essence of Christ’s message, when He said, “So you did?" Man's liberation, is the essence of reform.
"For no one can lay a foundation other than the one laid, which is Jesus Christ. " (1 Cor 11:3). We need to go back and discover Christ again; Christ the liberator. Christ the redeemer of self-love and selfishness. Christ who rejected violence, was the victim of violence. Christ who embodied love and forgiveness. Christ who called us to deny ourselves... And carry up our cross... And today we hold the cross in solidarity with the oppressed. Christ who called the church to hunger and thirst for righteousness, for mercy... feeling sad and hurt ... she seeks peace, and indeed she suffers and is persecuted for the sake of peace and righteousness. Sacrifice for peace. This is our message."
Reverend Munth Isaac, Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem. Sermon from 11/5/2023--translated from Arabic.